The Writer of “Malgudi” – R.K. Narayan

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanswami was born on 10th October 1906 in Chennai. He was brought up by his grandmother and he had a younger brother, R.K. Laxman. He was a passionate reader of literaries written by Dickens, Thomas Hardy etc. As his father got transfer to Maharajah’s College High School in Mysore, he went along with him and studied there. He made use of the library which was present there and he spent much time in reading books. He failed in his college entrance examination and he spent a year reading & writing. He pursued his bachelor’s degree in Maharajah’s College of Mysore.

His career as a school teacher did not last long as he realized writing was his only career. His first publish was a review of book named “Development of Maritime Laws of 17th Century England”. Initially, he gained less money in his career but, he gained much respect and support. Narayan’s first novel “Swami and Friends” was rejected by some publishers. But, later in 1935 the book was published with the help of his friend and Graham Greene. His next novel “The Bachelor of Arts” which was about his college experiences and some other stuff. Both the books got him good reviews.

In 1933, he fell in love with a young girl and struggled to marry her with the permission of her father. She died in 1939 as she was affected by Typhoid. He was depressed by her death and he had concerns about his daughter Hema. His next novel was “The English Teacher”, published in 1945. He started his own publishing company “Indian Thought Publications” which runs till now. He wrote various creative and imaginative novels, autobiography and so on. He was also nominated in Rajya Sabha for his contribution towards literature. His last novel was “Grandmother’s Tale”. Narayan got his first Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958 for “The Guide”. The same story was made in to film and he received the “Film Fare Award for Best Story”. He has received the India’s highest civilian awards ‘Padma Bhushan’ and ‘Padma Vibhushan’.

He spent his days in later times with the publisher of “The Hindu”, N. Ram. He spent more time talking about various topics until the midnight. In 2001 May, he was hospitalized and a less time before he was in to the ventilator, he was planning to write a novel and asked N. Ram to get a notebook for him. But, he died in 13 May 2001 and did not write the novel which he planned to write.